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IMF Delegation Back in Argentina
The Washington Post, April 1, 2002
Buenos Aires, Argentina –– An International Monetary Fund mission returned to Argentina on Monday to examine further the country's finances as the government continued lobbying for billions of dollars in fresh aid. The IMF delegation opened a two-week visit that is expected to clarify what reforms Argentina must undertake to receive further aid from the international lending agency The visit is widely seen as crucial to the embattled government of President Eduardo Duhalde, which is struggling to contain Argentina's worst economic crisis in history amid rising worries of inflation and persistent turmoil. In recent weeks, the peso's value against the dollar has plunged by more 70 percent and prices on fuel, medications and groceries have risen steadily, fanning fears inflation could again sweep across Argentina as it did in the late 1980s – the last time economic upheaval befell the country. IMF officials made no public comment after arriving in Buenos Aires. Argentina is seeking as much as $25 billion in bailout funds to prop up its banking system and put the country on the road to recovery. But IMF officials have said Argentina must undertake more economic reforms and present a clear plan before aid can be released. Chief among the demands have been calls to drastically cut government spending after chronic budget deficits led the IMF to shut off $9 billion in aid in December. But Argentina fears that further austerity measures could re-ignite social unrest that engulfed the country in December, triggering bloody street riots, supermarket looting, and the resignation of three presidents. Citing Economy Ministry officials, a report in the Buenos Aires daily, El Cronista, said Monday that the IMF was calling on Duhalde to reduce the number of government workers in the provinces as part of the deep spending cuts. Reductions in spending by Argentina's provincial governments have been at the center of talks between the IMF and Duhalde's government since he began to piece together a new economic plan to qualify for renewed financial assistance. According to El Cronista, the IMF's proposal would reduce the number of provincial workers by 375,000, or 27 percent of the work force. In return, workers would be given a monthly subsidy lower than their salary that could help the government save some $2 billion a year. Duhalde is expected to announce a variety of new economic measures later this week. Local reports said Duhalde's economic team was studying an increase in export taxes to help make up for falling tax revenue that have left government coffers thin. Early statistics show tax collection for March fell by 11 percent. FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Action on Aging distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
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